Court documents: Yonathan Melaku videotaped Marine Corps museum shooting

Yonathan Melaku set up a video camera in his car and recorded himself firing several shots at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle on Oct. 29, 2010, federal authorities said in court documents filed Thursday.

The video, seized by law enforcement officers last week, shows Melaku driving towards the museum and “repeatedly firing a handgun from the vehicle out the passenger-side window,” the court documents state.

“That’s the military building… last time I hit them, they turned off the lights for like four or five days,” Melaku said in the video, the court documents state. “So now here we go again; this time I’m going to turn it off permanently. Alright next time this video turns on, I will be shooting.”

Melaku, 22, a Marine Corps reserve lance corporal, as charged Thursday with destruction of U.S. property and use of a firearm in connection with the shootings.

In the fall, a gunman struck area military buildings six times, and investigators determined the same gun was used each time.

First, on Oct. 17, 2010, National Museum of the Marine Corps employees reported that shots were fired at the museum sometime overnight. Police determined that between 12:30 and 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, ten shots were fire from the area of Interstate 95. Bullets pierced several windows struck and struck the base of the museum.

Two days later, on Oct. 19 at 4:57 a.m., six or seven bullets from the same gun were fired from the same gun at the Pentagon, shattering windows there. Authorities said it cost $15,144 to repair the damage at the Pentagon.

Then, on Oct. 26, shots were fired overnight at a Marine Corps recruiting sub-station in Chantilly. One window was damaged.

Next, on Oct. 29, 2010, shots were fired a second time at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

According to court documents, as of June 20, the Marine Corps Museum has spent $83,985.03 to repair glass damaged in both shootings there. Museum officials expect to spend another $10,124.80 to complete the repairs, the court documents state.

The next gunfire came on Nov. 1 at a U.S. Coast Guard recruiting office near Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge. At least one shot was fired there, causing $1,800 in damages.

Melaku, an Ethiopian native, sparked a security scare Friday after U.S. Park Police saw him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark. Authorities then found his red 2011 Nissan truck parked in a wooded area near the Pentagon, according to an FBI press release.

Police said Melaku’s behavior after he was confronted by police prompted massive road closures on Friday morning as officials investigated the contents of his backpack for what they initially feared might be bomb-making materials.

Authorities searched Melaku’s Alexandria home, and seized several items, including the video he recorded during the shoots, court documents state.

If convicted, Melaku faces up to 10 years in prison for the two counts of injuring each of the two willfully injuring the property of the United States charges and a total mandatory minimum of 35 years and a maximum of life in prison if he is convicted of both use of a firearm during a crime of violence charges.

Military editor Julia LeDoux contributed to this story.